Battle of the Denmark Strait (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)
The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a Second World War naval battle between ships of the Royal Navy and the German Kriegsmarine's High Seas Fleet as part of the Battle of the Atlantic, fought on 24 May 1941. The British battleships [[HMS N3 (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS N3]] and [[HMS Prince of Wales (53) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Prince of Wales]] and the battlecruiser [[HMS Hood (51) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Hood]], as well as the super battlecruiser [[HMS Incomparable (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Incomparable]] (the largest and heaviest battlecruiser in the world) fought the German battleship ''L 20 α'', the two ''Bismarck''-class battleships Bismarck and ''Tirpitz'', the two ''Scharnhorst''-class battleships ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'', and the heavy cruiser ''Prinz Eugen'', all of which were preparing to break out into the North Atlantic to attack Allied merchant shipping (Operation: Rheinübung). They were later joined by the two German ''H''-class super battleships ''Führer'' and ''Bismarck II'', the largest. heaviest and most powerful battleships in the world, which made their debut in battle, and also the three British ''Admiral''-class battlecruisers [[HMS Anson (52) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Anson]], [[HMS Howe (53) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Howe]] and [[HMS Rodney (54) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Rodney]]'' later joined late in the battle. Less than 10 minutes after the British opened fire, a shell from ''Bismarck struck Hood near her aft ammunition magazines. Soon afterward, Hood exploded, and sank within three minutes with the loss of all 1,415 but three of her crew. Prince of Wales and N3 continued to exchange fire with Bismarck and her sister ship Tirpitz but Prince of Wales suffered serious malfunctions in her main armament as the British battleship had not fully worked up after only being completed in late March 1941 and soon was struck by several shells from Bismarck and Tirpitz. She sank some minutes later with the loss of all 1,521 of her crew. The German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau exchanged fire with N3, later joined by Bismarck and Tirpitz after the destruction of Hood and the Prince of Wales. The combined firepower of all four German battleships proved to be too much for N3, who were soon struck with several shells from Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Tirpitz. The shells from the three German battleships soon caused N3 to capsize and sank with the loss of all 1,800 of her crew. Soon the super battleships ''Führer'' and ''Bismarck II'', the world's largest, heaviest and most powerful battleships had entered the area to join the High Seas Fleet. Führer, Bismarck II and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen would exchange fire with Incomparable, Führer and Bismarck II with their eight 50.8 cm (20.0 in) guns in four twin turrets. Incomparable was also armed with 50.8 cm (20.0 in) guns, but with six 50.8 cm (20.0 in) guns in three twin turrets compared to Führer' and Bismarck II's eight 50.8 cm (20.0 in) guns in four twin turrets. This, combined with the firepower of heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen destroyed Incomparable with ease as her armor were lightly protected. Incomparable, the world's largest and heaviest battlecruiser would sink with the loss of her crew of 2,500. This was a very important naval victory for the German Kriegsmarine and the German High Seas Fleet, as this demonstrated that even the Royal Navy were not invincible to attacks from the Kriegsmarine. It was one of the largest naval battles fought in the Atlantic. The Battle of the Denmark Strait led to the proposed Plan Z being approved by Führer Adolf Hitler and Großadmirals (Grand Admiral) Erich Raeder and Karl Dönitz, and the expansion of the Kriegsmarine would soon commence. The construction of the German aircraft carrier ''Graf Zeppelin'' was completed by July 1941, and after trials she was commissioned into the German High Seas Fleet in September 1941. Many older pre-World War I battleships and battlecruisers serving in the Imperial German Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) before and during World War I that underwent extensive modernization and reconstruction during the interwar period, would be witnesses to another extensive reconstruction period in order to extend their lifespans by circa 25 years. Category:World War II (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes) Category:Battle of the Atlantic (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes) Category:Battle of the Denmark Strait (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes) Category:Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes Category:Battles of World War II (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)